Castle Hill National Historic Site of Canada

Learning Experiences

Take a tour of the Visitor Centre exhibits and grounds, and learn about the
life of the inhabitants of Plaisance during the mid-1600s.

See the Detached Redoubt and Le Gaillardin.

Visit the Ruins of Fort Royal and take the time to view the panorama of the
Town of Placentia.

About one hour from Placentia, 52 kilometres (32 miles) east on the
Salmonier Line on Route 90, is the Salmonier Nature Park. Here you can see
moose, caribou, lynx, fox, bald eagles, and many other animals found in
this part of Newfoundland.

60 kilometres (40 miles) south of Castle Hill is the Cape St. Mary’s
Ecological Reserve, where you’ll find the second largest colony of
nesting gannets in North America. Also seen at the Cape are black-legged
kittiwakes, Atlantic murres and northern razorbills. A magnificent sea
stack rises out of the ocean, just off the Cape. A bird watcher’s
must-see and a photographer’s delight.

About a half-hour from Castle Hill at Ship Harbour, visit the Ship Harbour
Monument, commemorating the drafting of the Atlantic Charter by Winston
Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt, on a warship off Ship Harbour Point in
1941.

Visitor Centre

While at Castle Hill National Historic Site of Canada, be sure to go to the
Visitor Centre and view the exhibits. Interpretive panels explain about the
fort and its evolution through French and British occupations.

Be sure to browse through the Historic Sites Association gift shop for
reminders of your trip to Castle Hill.